Lauder Manse

Lauder Manse

Built in 1812, this is a two-storey classical manse with an attic, arranged over five bays in a rectangular plan. The main house is rendered and painted whinstone with painted droved ashlar surrounds, stone cills, a band course and quoins. A single-storey service wing is attached to the rear (north-west), and a detached single-storey stable wing stands to the rear (north-east), together forming a U-plan around a rear courtyard which retains an original well.

The principal south elevation is symmetrical, with slightly advanced outer bays topped by a stepped blocking course. A corniced central doorway features a panelled timber door with square brass furniture and a small diamond-paned fanlight. Between the outer bays sit a pair of piended-roofed canted dormers with slate cheeks.

The west elevation is a gable end with windows off-centre at ground and first floor levels, and a small attic window. The piended stable wing is linked at the far left.

The north (rear) elevation has three bays. A small central ground floor window with lying panes is flanked by rectangular windows in the outer bays. The first floor contains three windows with an additional small window between the centre and left bays. Small rooflights sit above the outer bays.

The linked western wing is a single-storey, piended, rectangular structure on split levels, stepping up to the north. It has a central doorway with flanking windows and a central chimneystack to the lower section. Wide sliding timber boarded doors serve the lower section, with a single timber boarded door to the higher section. A single window opens to the south gable, and random rubble walling faces north.

The stable to the east is a five-bay, square-plan building with a piended slate roof and a lower section to the south. Its principal elevation faces the courtyard, with a window in the centre bay and boarded doors to the outer bays. The interior retains a cobbled floor, timber stall dividers and troughs, and stone hen boxes in the far right room.

Many original 12-pane timber sash-and-case windows survive, although some timber replacements exist on most elevations. The main house has a pitched slate roof with rectangular gable-end chimneystacks and circular clay cans. Cast-iron rainwater goods and decorative cast-iron clothes poles to the garden ground are painted.

The interior displays a notable decorative scheme. The entrance hall has a glazed door and fanlight leading to the main hall. Decorative architraves with lion-head brackets crown the principal doorways. The principal rooms feature ornate cornice work, decorative friezes, dado panelling and working shutters. Original fireplaces survive in most rooms. A corridor to the west comprises a pantry, larder and coal store. The staircase is particularly fine, featuring half-landings, thin cast-iron balustrades and a wooden handrail. In the attic, combed ceiling rooms lead from a central landing, with some original fire surrounds surviving. A concealed eaves attic space to the front elevation is accessed by a small doorway, which is decorated with a late 19th-century fashion print of a lady.

The Glebe is a good and little-altered example of a large and prosperous parish manse with classical detailing. It retains its original plan form, with the wings originally serving as stables and coach house to the main house. The interior plan form survives unaltered, preserving the original use and character of the building.

This was the former manse for Lauder Church, renamed when sold by the church. During the mid-19th century, ecclesiastical affairs of the parish were supervised by the Presbytery of Lauder and the Synod of Merse and Teviotdale. The minister's stipend was £272, with the manse and glebe valued at £18 per annum. The building is evident on the first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1855–7.